Sleep Walking vs Sleep Talking

19 October 2009, Monday (30 Syawal)

SLEEPWALKING
Hours after bedtime, do you find your little one wandering the halllooking dazed and confused? If you have a sleepwalking child, you'renot alone.

It can be unnerving to see, but sleepwalking is very commonin kids and most sleepwalkers only do so occasionally and outgrow it bythe teen years.

Despite its name, sleepwalking (also called somnambulism) actuallyinvolves more than just walking. Sleepwalking behaviors can range fromharmless (sitting up), to potentially dangerous (wandering outside), tojust inappropriate (kids may even open a closet door and urinateinside). No matter what kids do during sleepwalking episodes, though,it's unlikely that they'll remember ever having done it!

As we sleep, our brains pass through five stages of sleep — stages1, 2, 3, 4, and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Together, these stagesmake up a sleep cycle. One complete sleep cycle lasts about 90 to 100minutes. So a person experiences about four or five sleep cycles duringan average night's sleep.

Sleepwalking most often occurs during the deeper sleep of stages 3and 4. During these stages, it's more difficult to wake someone up, andwhen awakened, a person may feel groggy and disoriented for a fewminutes.

Kids tend to sleepwalk within an hour or two of falling asleep andmay walk around for anywhere from a few seconds to 30 minutes.

SLEEP TALKING
Have you been told that you whisper sweet nothings in your sleep-- unaware that you ever spoke a word? Or, maybe your child shouts outstreams of babble late at night -- only to fall right back to sleep.

Have you been hoping your sleep-talking spouse will spill a long-timesecret? Try posing a question while he or she is sleeping, anddon't be surprised if you get a single syllable answer! But be warned:A sleep talker usually doesn't remember anything that's said duringsleep.

Talking in your sleep can be a funny thing. Perhapsyou chitchat unconsciously with unseen associates at the midnight hour.Or maybe a family member unknowingly carries on nightly conversations.It can also be violent or a sign of some other disorder.

What exactly is sleep talking?
Sleep talking, or somniloquy,is the act of speaking during sleep. It's a type of parasomnia -- anabnormal behavior that takes place during sleep. It's a very commonoccurrence and is not usually considered a medical problem.

Thenighttime chatter may be harmless, or it could be graphic, even Rrated. Sometimes, listeners find the content offensive or vulgar. Sleeptalkers normally speak for no more than 30 seconds per episode, butsome people sleep talk many times during a night.

Thelate-night diatribes may be exceptionally eloquent, or the words may bemumbled and hard to decipher. Sleep talking may involve simple soundsor long, involved speeches. Sleep talkers usually seem to be talking tothemselves. But sometimes, they appear to carry on conversations withothers. They may whisper, or they might shout. If you share a bedroomwith someone who talks in his or her sleep, you might not be gettingenough shut-eye.

Who Talks in their Sleep?
Manypeople talk in their sleep. Half of all kids between the ages of 3 and10 years old carry on conversations while asleep, and a small number ofadults -- about 5% -- keep chit-chatting after they go to bed.

Theutterances can take place occasionally or every night. Girls talk in their sleep as much as boys. And experts think that sleep talking may run in families.

It'shard to tell if you've been talking in your own sleep. Usually, peoplewill tell you they've heard you shout out during the night or while youwere napping.

Or maybe someone might complain that your sleep talkingis keeping him or her up all night, like my husband does. And I, him. Huh....that's another story.

My Family Stories on Sleepwalking and Sleep Talking 
Check out this space for my stories about sleepwalking and sleep talking among my family members, yours truly, included.  Believe me, they're really hilarious.....